obsessive smelling

[chimegardens]

We have a 2 yr. old Lab. from the Humane Society. They did not know any info on him. We have adopted him about a month ago. He is obsessive about smelling people's private areas. (continually) It is about to drive my husband crazy!! How can we stop this.

He also, digs in our back yard and chews on rocks. I did find some great advice on this website about digging and will try those ideas today!

We give him chew toys (which is not not really interested in) and rawhides that he likes. The Vet put him on anti-aggression meds. because of chewing our shoes, etc. He is much better about chewing inside now. But also, wants to jump on people, especially new people. I would take him to obedience training, but my husband is laid off and this is not an option at this time...please help...thanks.

[kernow]

The excessive smelling is not a nice habit, I think the only way to deal with it is to firmly tell the dog 'No' and then tell him to sit. Discourage jumping up, then the dog should not be tempted to sniff.

[luv2write]

I agree with Kernow. Hopefully you can get it stopped as it would be agrivating.

[Justontime]

All dogs need to learn good manners when meeting people. I don't like dogs to jump up and I would suggest you work on getting him to meet people without jumping up and at the first sign of inappropriate sniffing either get him to sit or send him to his bed/cage. It is important that he learns the commands to sit, to stay and to go to his place.

[Bill]

The problem with adopting shelter or rescue dogs is that there is often a reason they are in the shelter or rescue. You have found your dog's reasons. The chewing is not a difficult habit to break. Anytime he picks up something inappropriate to chew on, in a calm voice, tell him, "no, no, no, don't chew that, here chew this" and give him one of his chew toys. You must do this the instant he puts his mouth on something inappropriate. Don't be upset with him or scold him. Just talk in a normal conversational tone of voice. Meds for chewing is totally inappropriate. Vets should learn more about canine behavior modification.

As for jumping, don't give him the opportunity to do it. Anytime he is meeting other people, have him on leash and don't let him close enough to jump up or sniff. Usually when jumping up, dog's are overly excited. Keep him on leash and near you until he calms down. After he calms down, leave the leash on but you let go of your end and let him drag it around. If his excitement level goes back up, pick up the leash again until he is once again calm. He will soon learn what behavior is acceptable and what isn't. This isn't dog "training" ... this is dog "teaching". You are teaching him proper behavior, you aren't forcing him to do anything.

[PetParent]

Not that you want your dog sniffing your guests, know that they somehow get a lot of information about a person through their scent. If your dog has a questionable past, his need to sniff may be understandable but still inappropriate. I only say this to maybe help you be a little more patient with him. You said that he is not interested in toys... a couple of things that you may want to try, bake a sweet potato in the microwave when it cools add to that about a Tablespoon or so of creamy peanut butter (just for flavor) pack this about half full into an Extreme Kong and put it in the freezer overnight. The sweet potato has fiber and vitamin A and the peanut butter has protein. If your dog has a weight problem, use lowfat peanut butter. This is so much more nutritious and economical than treats and because it is frozen, it will take him a while to enjoy this. Meanwhile, hopefully this will help your guest feel less violated and give your dog a chance to get used to other people being in the house. As for the chewing and him not liking the appropriate chew toy... before you give him that toy, try dipping it in chicken broth. Just remember to wash it frequently. The Kong is dishwasher safe. A good one to use with the chicken broth is a Nylabone. Little by little, if you are patient, he will calm down.